BNXN’s career is a testimonial to the influence of likes and retweets on social media, which has the ability to change your life.
BNXN has established himself as one of the top-rated Nigerian artists to watch out for. He has also been able to construct a successful career for himself over the years and has captured the hearts of millions of listeners with his enchanting voice, memorable lyrics, and exceptional songwriting skills.
He earned recognition in 2019 because of his collaboration with rapper Zlatan on the “Spiritual Remix” album. He was originally signed under Burna Boy’s Spaceship Collective Music.
His debut Ep “Sorry I’m Late” sat at the top of music charts in the country for weeks. BNXN (fka Buju) is currently one of the most featured artists in the industry.
Table of Contents
Biography
Who is BNXN?
Daniel Benson, professionally known as Bnxn (formerly, Buju), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, producer, recording artist, and performer who initially got his fame from social media as he started out by putting his songs and covers on Instagram, Twitter, and Spotify before he gained recognition and scored a feature with Zlatan.
What does Buju mean?
His stage name “Buju” is a Jamaican name that means “bread”, and it was usually given to chubby children of which he could relate and hence he adopted the name. Then he decided to call himself “Bujutoyourears”
How to pronounce BNXN ?
Buju had a change of name in 2022 due to an issue with having the same name as Jamaican singer, Buju Banton and he is now called BNXN which is pronounced as Benson.
How Old is BNXN?
Daniel Benson was born on May 14, 1997, which means he will be 25 years old in 2022. There are many young artistes in the industry, and he is one of them.
Early life and Family Background
On May 19, 1997, Buju (BNXN) was born to Mr. and Mrs. Benson’s mixed-race household. He is of Yoruba and Akwa Ibom descent. While his mother is from the Southwest, his father is from the South-South. Daniel Benson is the name his parents gave him.
He was raised in Lagos State, Nigeria, where he was born. His initial name’s derivation can be attributed to the fact that his parents are Christians. He was brought up a Christian, and he often went to church.
Before moving to Mowe in Ogun State, he initially lived with his mother in Gbagada. While Buju’s mother passed away from cancer when he was a little child, his life changed dramatically.
In one of his media appearances, he admitted that his late mother had started teaching him the Yoruba language at a young age.
When Buju was in junior secondary school, he began singing. Buju (BNXN) also joined the choir at his school, where he was permitted to sing during social events. He took a break from music till 2017 after witnessing a stream of other brilliant artists at the institution. He started to become interested in freestyling, composing lyrics, and creating his own musical style at this point.
Education
He attended both primary and secondary school education and got his first school leaving certificate and his West African senior school certificate in Lagos.
He then proceeded to Babcock for his bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Babcock University.
Music career
BNXN’s career started because of his passion for Nigerian music and his participation in the school choir, where he was given the opportunity to perform during extracurricular events. While still in junior high school, he adopted the stage moniker “Drizzy” for his career as a rapper. The likes of Burna Boy, Dbanj, Psquare, Buju Banton, J Hus, and many others provided inspiration for his work.
In 2018, he began his journey in the Nigerian music sector. His career in the field officially began with the release of his debut single, “Catch a Vibe.”
Buju’s debut in the Nigerian music scene came with the song “Spiritual.” His producer, Steph, created a rhythm for the song in 2018.
His friends persuaded him that adding Zlatan Ibile as a feature after the song was finished recording.
BNXN (Buju), an up-and-coming musician, lacked the funds necessary to compensate a performer like Zlatan Ibile for a feature song.
To add Zlatan’s ad-libs to the song, he made a video and shared it on Twitter. Twitter users were really responsive to this and began tagging Zlatan in the video.
After a month of persistent tagging, Zlatan decided to jump on the video and shared it, which is how “Spiritual” came to be. This became a viral hit that helped him gain major recognition in the industry. Also, singer Zlatan did not collect any money from Buju for the song.
Bnxn revealed on his social media that Zlatan changed his life and to appreciate him, they made a song together titled “Alubarika.” In the video he shared, his caption was “Sometime in July 2019, @Zlatan_ibile gave me an opportunity of a lifetime by hopping on my record “Spiritual” and changing everything for me professionally and didn’t take a dime. I hope I can repay the favor with this one, “Alubarika,” out at midnight.
In 2020, Bnxn, fka Buju, met his idol, Burna Boy. This happened after Burna heard Buju’s song “L’Enu” in a club.
The artist then recorded the remix of “L’Enu” together. The music video was also funded by Burna Boy and has gained over 2.5 million views on YouTube.
In October 2021, Buju released the extended play project Sorry I’m Late under the management of T.Y.E/EMPIRE. It featured guest appearances from Nigerian Highlife music duo, The Cavemen, and production from Steph, Perlz, Denzl, Timi Jay, and Rexxie. It was mixed and mastered by Vtek and Poppil. Buju performed his first show in London on November 30, marking the beginning of his Sorry I’m Late tour.
In 2021, he featured on the commercially acclaimed Nigerian top charting singles “Feeling” by Ladipoe and “Bling” by Blaqbonez.
On August 27, 2021, he was featured on the deluxe edition of Wizkid’s Made In Lagos album alongside Canadian singer Justin Bieber.
In 2021, his collaboration with Wizkid on their song “Mood” earned him a number one spot on the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart On 20 December 2021, Wizkid debuts “Made In Lagos (The Deluxe)” short film, starring Buju, and directed by Kuukua Eshun.
On December 22, 2021, Buju headlined his first sold-out concert, which was also his debut concert in Lagos, held at the Balmoral Convection Centre, Lagos.
Buju officially changed his name to BNXN in 2022 to avoid confusion with Buju Banton and to have more unique branding. In March 2022, he collaborated with Pheelz on the single “Finesse”. The song peaked at number 52 on the UK’s Official Sings Chart. In July 2022, he featured on the Jae5 song “Propeller” alongside British rapper, Dave, and the song went on to become Bnxn’s first Top 40 single in the United Kingdom, entering the chart at number 38.
REAL NAME | Daniel Benson |
STAGE NAME | Bnxn ( formerly Bujutoyourears) |
DATE OF BIRTH | 14 May 1997 |
NATIONALITY | Nigerian |
RELIGION | Christianity |
GENRE | Afropop, Pop, Afro beats |
STATE OF ORIGIN | Akwa Ibom state |
OCCUPATION | Singer, songwriter, pianist |
INSTAGRAM HANDLE | @toyourears |
TWITTER HANDLE | @bnxn |
RECORD LABEL | T.Y.E / EMPIRE |
QUALIFICATIONS | Bsc. Theater arts |
ZODIAC SIGN | Taurus |
NETWORTH 2022 | $100,000 – $200,000 |
RELATIONSHIP STATUS | Single |
HEIGHT | 5’7 |
Record Label
To Your Ears Entertainment and Empire Records are currently BNXN’s record labels. In 2020, Spaceship Collective acquired his services.
The signing of afro-fusion musician Buju was announced by the record label of Nigerian singer Burna Boy on April 16, 2020. Please welcome our new Afro-Fusion artist, @bujutoyourears. #SpaceFam, according to a statement on the label’s official Instagram page, @spacecollective.
However, Buju chose not to extend the agreement when it expired in 2021.
In an interview, Buju claimed he didn’t extend his deal with Burna Boy because he preferred to work independently.
Burna “vibed” with my song “Lenu” in the club and signed me.
BNXN’s Songs
Since his entry into the Nigerian music industry, he has gone ahead to drop many hit songs that have entered top charts. Below are some of his songs and collaborations:
EP Details
EP TITLE | SORRY I’M LATE |
RELEASE DATE | 28 October 2021 |
LABEL | T.Y.E / EMPIRE |
INSPIRATION | His Ep speaks on his journey from not making music to making it and building something out of it. Buju explains to apple that this Ep is an apology to his fans |
SONGS | Daniel BensonNever stopped Kilometer Something Sweet Ogechukwu ft The Cavemen For here I do |
EP TITLE | Bad since ‘97 |
RELEASE DATE | 25 August 2022 |
LABEL | T.Y.E/ EMPIRE |
INSIPRATION | Bad since ’97 is an audacious attempt to situate himself among the greats of Afropop and it also veers into self methodology and also self confidence. |
SONGS | Bad since ’97 Bad man wicked Kenkele In my mind Modupe ft Olamide Loose emotions |
Other Songs and major features
- A Day in Lagos (2018)
- Catch a Vibe (2018)
- Aje (2018)
- Balance It (2018)
- L’Enu (2019)
- Spiritual featuring Zlatan Ibile (2019)
- Commander (2019)
- L’Enu featuring Burna Boy (2020)
- Feeling- Buju and Ladipo (2021)
- Outside (2021)
BNXN’s 2022 Net worth
As of the time of writing this article, his net worth has not been published to the public, being a new artist, so no certain amount has been attached to his net worth, but based on research and according to a few sources (newswire and legit), Bnxn’s net worth is estimated between $100,000 and $200,000.
Relationships
Bnxn is not married and has yet to make his relationship status known, so we believe he is currently single as of the time of writing the article.
Awards and Nominations
YEAR | EVENTS | AWARD | RECEPIENT | RESULTS |
2019 | The Headies 2020 | Rookie | Himself | Nominated |
2020 | City People Entertainment Awards | Revelation of the Year | Himself | Won |
2020 | AFRIMMA | African Fan Favourite | “Outside” | Nominated |
2020 | AFRIMMA | Best Artist or Duo Group | Ladipoe featuring Buju – “Feeling” | Nominated |
2020 | AFRIMMA | Best African Rapper or Lyricist | Ladipoe featuring Buju – “Feeling” | Nominated |
2021 | AFRIMMA | Best Promising Artiste | “Outside” | Nominated |
2021 | AFRIMMA | Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Hip Hop | Blaqbonez – “Bling” featuring Amaarae and Buju) | Nominated |
2022 | Grammy Awards | Best Global Music Album | Made in Lagos Deluxe Edition by Wizkid | Nominated |
BNXN on Social Media
He has been able to amass several followers and fans for himself as he knows the benefit of social media and its help to his career. His Instagram page (@toyourears) has over 1.1 million followers and his twitter account (@bnxn) has over 870 thousand followers.
Controversies
Bnxn is known for his Twitter controversies and has been involved in a few of them.
Girlfriend Controversy
According to reports, fast-rising afrobeats singer BNXN (Buju) is embroiled in a domestic violence scandal in 2021. A medical doctor, Dr Amira is accusing the singer of infidelity, manipulation, and domestic abuse.
The doctor took to Instagram to air her grievances, writing that she intends to put an end to his abusive behavior.According to Dr Amira, she and Buju —- currently signed to Burna Boy’s Spaceship label— have been dating for 1 year and four months.
She said during this time, she fed and clothed him but was paid back with lies, cheating, and physical assault.
“I honestly loved him to the extent that I paid for most of the clothes he wore and the food he ate through his manager, Tomiwa Agbaje, as his label doesn’t fund him. But what do I get in return? He cheats on me and assaults me at the slightest provocation, “she wrote.
Celebrities vs. BXNX (Buju)
Some Twitter users apparently conducted a search of his previous tweets and discovered receipts dating back to 2016 in which he disparaged various Nigerian music singers, including Wizkid, Davido, Mr. Eazi, Yemi Alade, and others.
These discoveries did not sit well with Wizkid and Davido fans, who went on to criticise the singer.
Buju then responded with a video that indicated he was unconcerned before taking the high road and apologising for his conduct, claiming he had no idea he would later release music, demonstrating his ability to withstand the flames of controversy.
Ruger vs. BNXN (Buju)
These two are known for their constant back and forth on social media and they have constantly criticised themselves, which has led to a constant comparison between both artists by their fans on the Twitter app.
It all started in July when Daniel Benson, professionally known as Buju, posted a chat with music star Olamide, where he explained dropping more lines to a new track they were both working on.
Ruger, who was in Berlin, also posted a screenshot of a chat where he sent an unreleased track to a friend who commended him.
Later on, a fan of Buju with the name @BNXN001 tweeted on the microblogging site to drag Ruger, saying he was not better than Daniel Benson.
He tweeted, “Lol, bnxn is better than you and there’s nothing you can do about it, you this low budget Samuel L Jackson.”
Ruger, who found the tweet insulting, retweeted the post.
He wrote, “I love Buju. He’s good, but he’s not better than me. Everything I’ve done since the beginning was only RUGER. All my hits are just RUGER. I’m always proud to go on stage around the world with my own hits and everyone is singing along. “You see the difference?”
After Ruger tweeted his reply, various fans decided to criticise the artist, while others supported him.
Their second twitter altercation happened on the 25th August,2022 between both artists after singer Buju, who is also known as BNXN, released his sophomore EP titled ‘Bad Since 97’.
In the post, BNXN used the caption “What if I, What if I, What if I… Cook,” which is likely a derivation of Ruger’s hit single “Girlfriend.”
Infuriated by Buju’s dig on the social media platform, Ruger immediately came at his colleague. Attacking Buju, Ruger unexpectedly dubbed his colleague a “fatty bum bum came at his colleague. Attacking Buju, Ruger unexpectedly dubbed his colleague a “fatty bum bum.”
Ruger tweeted, “Get a solo hit then talk to me fatty bum bum.”
Buju, later dubbed Ruger, ‘Baba Fryo’, referencing his use of an ‘eye patch’.
He wrote,
“Baba Frayo swag-jacking pirate”
Conclusion
BNXN is a promising music artiste known for his catchy choruses and lyrical verses which has made him one of the most featured artistes in the Nigerian music scene. We will keep journaling and updating his net worth as he grows in the Nigerian music industry.